Mr Curran was originally appointed in late 2010 to the job on a €250,000-a-year salary, which was more modest than those paid to many semi-state company bosses at the time.

He has been busy trying to cut the salaries paid to top-name broadcasters, and he has also been dealing with the internal and external fallout from a major libel payout to the priest, Fr Kevin Reynolds, arising from the 'Prime Time' programme slot.

Meanwhile, RTE spent €56,502 on its coverage of Nelson Mandela's funeral, it has emerged. The bill included €11,052 for accommodation and expenses for the five members of staff.

A further €5,744 was spent on airfares to South Africa, and on internal flights within the country for two staff members. A Freedom of Information request also revealed that RTE spent €29,776 on live satellite links back to Ireland.

An RTE spokesperson said that it spent the minimum amount of time in South Africa required to provide full coverage.